News
Now a graybeard, Colts' Adam Vinatieri gets blank slate in 2010
30 Aug 10
By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
After building a résumé that distinguishes him as arguably the greatest kicker of all time, the Indianapolis Colts' Adam Vinatieri feels as though he is starting over.
"Anything I've done in the past doesn't mean anything in the future," he says as he anticipates his 15th NFL season. "I still feel like I'm a rookie and there is a lot to prove every day I step on the field."
The only kicker in league history to make field goals in as many as four Super Bowls was reminded of how fragile pro careers can be when he was reduced to the role of spectator in Indianapolis' 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints last February in Super Bowl XLIV.
Vinatieri, 37, has been troubled in recent seasons by hip and knee problems. After playing in the first five regular-season games last year, he required surgery on his right knee. In the Colts' opinion, he had not recovered enough to allow him to extend his record by playing in a sixth Super Bowl.
He makes it clear he did not fully agree with that decision.
"It was one of those things where my health was less than 100%," he says. "I understood the decision and respected the decision, but it's tough when you feel you can help the team and you're not getting called on.
"You do what you can to help the team, and if that means standing on the sidelines cheering, that's what it means, I guess."
Vinatieri's Super Bowl frustration surely reminded him of the toll age inevitably takes and how much work is required to keep on kicking.
It doesn't seem all that long ago that his 48-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired to give the New England Patriots a 20-17 victory against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI to close the 2001 season. But it was.
It doesn't seem all that long ago that his 41-yarder with four seconds left allowed the Patriots to outscore the Carolina Panthers 32-29 in wild Super Bowl XXXVIII to cap the 2003 season. But it was.
Vinatieri finds himself making the kinds of adjustments all older athletes make. His work begins well before a practice or game.
"It's just a little bit of maintenance stuff to make sure it continues to stay as good as it's supposed to," he says. "When I get out there nice and loose and warm, it feels like it should."
His workload is being closely monitored this preseason, something he welcomes. "I would venture to say Peyton (Manning) doesn't throw as many balls as he did as a rookie," he says, "and running backs when they get older don't run quite as many plays. It's just a way to stay fresh and healthy."
Second-year head coach Jim Caldwell feels sure Vinatieri can be same player who owns 22 game-winning field goals in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
"He takes a lot of pride in what he does. He sets the bar high for himself," Caldwell says. "I have no question he'll get back to kicking as well as he ever kicked."
Vinatieri's career will always be celebrated in New England and Indianapolis. He joined the Colts in 2006 as a free agent, and his presence was felt immediately. He set a postseason record with 49 points, including three of four field goals in a 29-17 victory against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
Vinatieri is not thinking about retirement or attaching any timetable to his career.
"Right now I still feel like I'm writing a book and I'm on chapter 15," he says. "I don't know if the book has got 16, 17 or 21 chapters. I have no idea."
Vinatieri expresses the desire to keep kicking as long as he is an asset and not a liability.
"I'll go back and read the book when it's done," he says.
